Topic A: Energy

The Religious Right Takes a Stand for the Environment

New York Times reports on the preponderance of conservative religious leaders who are speaking out in support of President Obama’s environmental policies.

“More than two dozen faith leaders, including evangelicals and conservative Christians, spoke at the E.P.A.” public hearings on its proposed regulation to cut carbon pollution from power plants.

“This week’s hearings on the new E.P.A. rule gave [religious groups] an opportunity to make their argument that climate change hurts the world’s poor through natural disasters, droughts and rising sea levels, and that it is part of their faith to protect the planet.”

“In recent years a number of conservative religious groups have embraced global warming as a serious concern.”

Katharine Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian and climate scientist at Texas Tech: “Rather than letting our faith dictate our politics, we’ve gotten to the point for many of us where we’re letting our politics — typically what the Republican Party says — dictate our faith … Caring about God’s creation and caring about God’s people is entirely consistent with caring for your neighbor.”